Growing Leaders

A Growing Leader!

When Mark harvests his corn, he saves some of the seed for planting, ensuring another crop to harvest. Our corn continues to produce, our chickens continue to eat corn and we continue to receive eggs. It’s a sustainable system.

So when I began to plan for an environmental summer camp for the children in our barrio, I had to stop and ask myself the question, “Is this a sustainable system? Will this project continue to happen even after Mark and I return to the States?” My answer to myself was, “Probably not….”

Putting my enthusiasm for making leaf prints aside, and the markers back on the shelf, I noticed my fifteen- year-old neighbor walking towards my house. Then it hit me- if they had an interest, the bright, energetic teenagers in the barrio could learn and lead a camp for their younger neighbors.

 It was time to “grow” some leaders!

Celsa was interested and recruited two friends to help plan, prepare and present an Environmental Summer Camp for the kids in Barrio San Miguel.

We started with brainstorming ideas and charting them. They decided on a 3-day camp, 3 hours per day. We charted daily schedules; listed resources needed, and divided the responsibilities.

Brainstorming, Organizing and Scheduling

 The girls did research on the themes they selected, (Managing Trash; Native Trees; Birds and Animals of Paraguay), created posters and practiced their presentations. They prepared art projects that went with each theme, (Yeay- they selected leaf prints!), and planned fun recreational activities.

Preparing Materials and Presentations

After 5, half-day planning/ work sessions, followed by walking the barrio to personally invite children to attend the camp, the girls were ready!

The teenagers did a great job “leading” their 18 participants during a fun, informative, and engaging 3 day Environmental Summer Camp! They worked together, followed their plan, and shared responsibilities that reflected their strengths.

"Tree Day" Discussion

Mark Shares Information on Planting Tree Seeds

Were there a few bumps in the road? Sure there were- That’s when I bit my tongue, and they learned from the process! We saved all of the planning charts, schedules and teaching posters to serve as guides in planning future “camps,” in hopes that it becomes a sustainable practice.

The end result? Happy camp participants, new learning about important environmental themes, proud camp leaders, and a new crop of enthusiastic, growing leaders!

"Campers" Showing Off Their Certificates

Who is the Tooth Fairy?

When our neighbors, Lorenzo and Jenny came over for a visit, we had an interesting conversation.

Lorenzo had lost a tooth, giving him that cute six-year old jack-o-lantern smile. After hearing the story about his aunt’s technique of painlessly extracting his loose tooth, I asked the obvious question, “Did you put it under your pillow?”

Jenny and Lorenzo looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. Why on earth would someone put a tooth under a pillow? After asking twice, I realized the confusion was not stemming from misunderstanding my words, (which STILL happens), but from not being familiar to the whole notion of the Tooth Fairy….

So, I asked, “When a tooth falls out, what do kids in Paraguay do with the tooth?”

The answer to them was as obvious as the Tooth Fairy regime was to me- “Obviously you throw the tooth onto the roof of your house! Why would you put a tooth under your pillow? How would Kyju’i find it there?”

That led to my explanation of the story of the Tooth Fairy, (a really bizarre notion when you think about it…). Jenny then shared the story of Kyju’i. It went something like this…

In Paraguay, when a child looses a tooth, she must throw it on top of the roof of her house, and recite,

 “Kyju’i, Kyju’i, eme’e cheve che raira ipyahuva.” Translating from Guarani to English- “Kyju’i, Kyju’i, give me a new tooth.”

During the night, Kyju’i, a cricket, will visit and collect the tooth from the roof. If he is successful in finding the tooth, Kyju’i will keep it, and in return will ensure that another tooth grows in its place. And sure enough, those “new teeth” seem to grow in every time!

So there you go, no monetary trade off, just an exchange for a bigger, better model. Interesting these cultural traditions we have for children. Too bad the magic doesn’t continue for adults. Then again, I’d be happy to keep all of my teeth at this point!